Mother's Day
by Lokithenightfury
Summary: On the early morning of Mother's Day, Maddie found Danny Phantom in the park, unconscious and hurt. Now, she struggles between her scientist side wanting to study the ghost, and her concerned mother side, telling her to take care of this lonely child in need of a mother for comfort. Mother's day fic. Maddie and Danny bonding


**Hiya! This is my first story in Danny phantom so I hope you like it! This is a fic for mother's day, so obviously, it's about Maddie and Danny. Yes, it is a few days too ate to be posted, but it took me more time than I expected. I know that this is kinda a over-used idea, but I decided to give it a shot. If I made a mistake about anything, grammar, ****spelling, please tell me, english is not my first language. Well, here it is and I hope you enjoy!**

**...**

Maddie sighed as she turned over in her bed for the hundredth time that night. She pressed against her ear plugs to try to block the sound of her husband's abominable snoring, but to no help. Somehow, she couldn't get her thoughts to quiet down enough so that she could sleep, even though she was really tired after spending most of the night fixing a few inventions that Jack broke, again.

Maddie took a few deep breaths and looked at her alarm clock. It was 3:26 in the morning, she had been tossing and turning under her blankets for over two hours now. Finally, after trying to sleep for another 10 minutes, she sighed tiredly and pushed back her covers, swinging her legs out of bed. She rubbed her eyes and took out her earplugs, wincing as the volume of Jack's snoring increased significantly, then put them on the table near her bed. She hopped out of bed then stretched, yawning, then walked out of her room.

Maddie walked pass Jazz's bedroom, her daughter was at a friend's house to study for an upcoming exam. Her gaze set on Danny's room, she walked over to the door, opening it slightly to peek inside. She smiled softly as she saw a tuff of raven hair and a lump hiding under the blanket, oblivious to the fact that instead of Danny in his bed, it was simply a couple of pillows and a wig hastily stuffed under the cover when a certain someone's ghost sense got triggered.

Maddie's thoughts turned to her son's behaviour as she closed the door. He seemed to grow more and more distant as the time passed. When he was younger, he used to run into her arms every time he was sad, sobbing in her shoulder while bawling out his problems. Now, he avoids her look every time she asked what was wrong, he would mumble a "I'm fine." Maddie would sigh sadly and let it drop, wondering what happened to the little boy that had always been open to her in the past.

Maddie walked down the stairs and towards the door that led outside, feeling like taking a walk to the park. She picked up a few weapons that she fixed as she passed the kitchen, where she left them on the table. She slipped on her boots and walked outside, closing and locking the door behind her.

...

It wasn't long before Maddie reached the park, where most loose ghosts like to hide at night. Hoping for a distraction to her problems, Maddie pulled out her ecto-gun and began walking through the park, looking for any sign of ghost activity.

After a few minutes of walking and finding no ghost, Maddie came to a halt as she heard a soft groan coming from the bushes in front of her. As quietly as possible, she tiptoed to the bushes and looked over them.

At that moment, the clouds moved away from the moon in the sky and its silvery light shined bright enough for her to see what, or who, was in front of her.

Her eyes set on the figure sprawled on the ground and she immediately recognized it when she saw the messy white hair and the black and white HAZMAT suit. It was the ghost boy, Danny Phantom, lying on his back, eyes closed and looking utterly exhausted. His suit was torn at a few places and his hair was even messier than usual.

Maddie just crouched there, unsure if she should take this opportunity to eliminate him, or take him to the lab for experiments.

A harsh cough broke her thoughts and she looked at the young ghost again, finally deciding to have a closer look.

Without making a sound, Maddie cautiously walked over to Phantom, holding up her loaded ecto-gun in case that it was a trap. She hesitantly tapped his leg slightly with her boot and held her gun tighter, expecting an attack.

The ghost simply frowned slightly and mumbled a protest, turning around to his side and curling up, crying out softly in pain.

Maddie tapped him again on his back, a little harder than last time. Phantom groaned in pain and mumbled, this time loud enough so that she could hear. "Five more minutes mum..."

Maddie's eyes narrowed, Phantom acted just like a normal teenager in the morning.

_Is he talking about a ghost he calls his mother, or he thinks that I'm his mother when he was alive?_ Maddie thought.

She was surprised when she saw that she actually felt a little sorry for the ghost, he mustn't have been dead long if he still thinks that his mother would wake him up to go to school.

Maddie shook her head and grew serious again, pulling out a ghost net gun and prepared to shoot Phantom with it, but her thoughts stopped her again.

_Should I really be taking advantage of this moment like that? Perhaps I should study him here when he's in this vulnerable state right now where I have almost no chance of getting disturbed. If I get home now with Phantom, I'll only have a few hours before Jack comes down in the lab as usual. He would immediately tear Phantom __molecule by molecule as soon as he saw him, not waiting for me to finish my tests. Not even a cookie would stop him._

Maddie put away her gun and took a closer look at Phantom. It stroke her how innocent he looked like that, his mouth slightly open and his face had an almost angelic look, if you put aside the grimace of pain he wore. But most of all, she was shocked at how _young _he appeared.

_He must've been around my Danny's age when he died, his parents must've been devastated. _She thought sadly and shivered, she wouldn't know what to do if her sweet baby boy died suddenly.

_Maybe if I just rolled him over, I could take in his features more easily... _Maddie thought as she pressed her hand on Phantom's side to push him back on his back.

The ghost's body tensed and she heard a strangled gasp as one of Phantom's ribs gave away under her touch.

_Wait... Ribs? Ghosts don't have any bones, let alone any rib cages! _Maddie thought confusingly.

Maddie prodded the boy's side again and received the same reaction, but this time, the boy cried out louder and curled up tighter on himself.

_Why does he do that? _Maddie wondered._ Ghosts can't feel pain.._.

"Mum... stop..." Phantom whined weakly, his face scrunched up in pain and he groaned. "You're hurting me..."

_That's it, I need __answers. _Maddie thought as she pushed the ghost's shoulder harshly.

"Phantom," She whispered, "Phantom!" She whispered louder and this time, the ghost boy's toxic green eyes fluttered open and he looked around with dazed eyes.

"Wha? Fine mum, I'm up, I'm up." He mumbled and rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, hissing when the movement stretched at his injured ribs.

"What's the matter? It's sund-mo...addie!" Phantom exclaimed when he saw who was with him, and that he was still in ghost form.

"How do you know my name? Never mind." Maddie asked suspiciously and cut Phantom before he could reply. "What are you doing here?" She said and raised her gun to Phantom's face.

The ghost had to go cross-eyed to see the gun in front of him since it was so close and he swallowed nervously. "Fight with Skulker, broke a few of my ribs, beat him... as usual, came here and fell unconscious." Phantom grunted and tried to get up by floating, but immediately fell back down with a cry of pain. He turned his eyes to Maddie after breathing in and out a few times, not to deep in case it might stretch at his ribs. Maddie didn't notice since she didn't really pay attention because she was still deciding weather or not to attack.

"What about you, what are you doing here, just staring at me while I was unconscious, which is pretty creepy by the way. Kinda like Vlad, keeps track of my grades in school... Fruit Loop..." He chuckled and coughed painfully. "Shouldn't you be ripping me apart 'molecule by molecule' as you oh so kindly put it instead of stalking me? Not that I'm complaining though. About the not tearing me apart, not the stalking, I still find that creepy." The ghost said sarcastically, his voice rasping.

Maddie ignored him and went back to asking questions. "Ghosts don't have any ribs, yet you do. Why?" She asked sharply and out her finer on the trigger of her gun, showing her thin patience.

Phantom's eyes widen fearfully and he scrambled to his feet, doubling over almost immediately and groaning loudly because of the pain.

"Oh and will you stop pretending?" Maddie snapped, annoyed at the ghost boy's behaviour.

"Pretending to do what?" Phantom asked between gritted teeth.

"You don't feel pain, no ghost does. So don't bother to try and make me pity you!" Maddie said, advancing slowly on Phantom, who backed up as quickly as his ribs could allow him to.

"Why do you act so human?" Maddie asked. "You aren't one -well, not anymore- but you still do some things that we do. You show multiple emotions, you have bones... and you're breathing!" Maddie remarked when she noticed Phantom's wheezy breaths.

"Maybe because I don't have a choice!" Phantom retorted, getting annoyed by all the pointless questions.

"Yes you do, you're a ghost!" Maddie countered.

"Yeah, I may be a ghost, but did you ever consider that I may be something else too!?" Phantom snapped.

Maddie closed her mouth, not sure what to say to that. She was about to argue back when phantom suddenly coughed violently, his hand over his mouth to try and muffle the harsh sound. The ghost fell to his knees and put his other hand around his chest, his eyes screwed shut in pain. Maddie gasped and stood still in shock, she never heard a ghost cough before, in fact, she never knew they even could.

Phantom stopped coughing and looked at his gloved hand, his eyes widening slightly and he chuckled weakly. "Figures it hurt so much, stupid rib punctured my lung..."

Maddie gasped as he boy's eyes slid closed and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious for the second time that night.

Maddie rushed cautiously to the fallen boy and hesitantly took his hand to see what he looked so horrified about, almost dropping it because of the coldness. She was still unsure if he was going to attack her by surprise, or if he was really hurt and all he told her was true. But then again, if he wanted to hurt her, he could've done so when she was distracted talking to him.

Maddie inhaled sharply when she saw what was on the ghost boy's limp hand. The usually white and spotless glove was splattered with green ectoplasm, the regular colour of a ghost's 'blood'. But what fascinated her the most was the random specks of red that swirled here and there in the green goo, like a cruel Christmas mix.

_What if he's right? What if he **is** something else... And why does he call me mom all the time?_

Then it hit her what day it was. Mother's day.

_Is that why? He remembered his mother and thought I was her? _Maddie asked herself sadly.

She glanced at the still unconscious boy lying next to her, his breath still wheezing painfully and Maddie came to a decision.

_I can't believe that I'm saying this, but right now, it's a mother's care he needs. Just for today._

Maddie slipped her arms under Phantom's legs and neck, careful not to accidentally touch his ribs, then heaved him up easily, emitting a groan of pain from the boy and another cough.

_Gosh, does he eat enough? Oh right, ghosts don't eat, __silly. _She said to herself and then blinked. _Wow, here I am, worrying and taking care of a ghost. What would Jack say if he saw me? Especially helping Phantom, our number one enemy! But should he really be his enemy, or helping him... Here I go again, the 'Mother's Day spirit' must be affecting me._

She walked over to a thick tree and laid Phantom in front of it, his back propped on the trunk so he could breathe better.

_Still can't wrap my mind around the fact that he can breathe, it's so unusual for a ghost... unless he's __faking it._

Maddie looked around the boy's suit for a zipper of some kind, carefully moving him around. She had to take off the top of his suit if she was to determine how badly the ribs were broken, and how much treatment they would need.

Unable to find what she was looking for, Maddie took out a pocket knife and tried to rip the suit open.

"Don't," A weak voice said. "Please..."

Maddie looked up in surprise at Phantom, who's eyes were full of panic, his breathing was picking up almost to a frantic point and he was trying to float away from her. Apparently, he woke up when she was looking for the opening of his suit.

"Oh no you don't." Maddie said and pushed Phantom back to the round.

The ghost closed his eyes in concentration, then sighed. "Darn it, can't go intangible either." Phantom murmured to himself then looked at Maddie with fearful eyes.

"I knew that you would want to do this, but I didn't know that you were that eager!" He said nervously.

Maddie frowned. "What are you talking about, Phantom? I'm just trying to-"

"Dissect me! I knew it!"Phantom cried, he looked almost close to tears. "You're trying to dissect me, get away from me!" He tried once more to get up, then sat heavily back down with a moan of discomfort.

Maddie suddenly understood, the first thing he woke up to was her holding a knife to his chest, of course he would panic.

Phantom tried a few more times to get up, but didn't have the strength to. He sighed defeatedly. "Fine, you got me, do your best." He said, his voice trembling. He closed his eyes and waited for Maddie to rip his chest open.

Maddie shook her head. "Look, I wasn't trying to dissect you, I was simply trying to see how bad your ribs broke." She explained.

Phantom cracked one eye open. "Not a trick?"

Maddie smiled. "Not a trick."

Phantom stared at her in disbelief, and was that hope? "But why? I'm a ghost, you fight ghosts, why are you helping me?"

"I guess it's because... you remind me of my son." Maddie admitted.

The young ghost's eyes widen slightly. "R-really?" He asked nervously. "How come?"

"Well for one, you act just like him. Like you're doing right now, rubbing your neck when you're nervous." Phantom took his hand out of the back of his neck in surprise, he didn't even see that he was doing that. "Second, you both look always so stressed and depressed when you think that no one's looking at you. And you're both hiding your emotions behind jokes and banters, like you're keeping a secret."

Phantom bit his lip at that comment.

"And also, because it's Mother's Day. Seeing you here, alone and hurt made me think about how lonely you should be. No family, no friends to support you. Usually, I wouldn't care since you're a ghost. But since were celebrating mothers today and you don't have one... It just makes me sad. Mothers are there to help you through thick and thin, we don't like to see our children hurt or struggling." She sighed sadly. "Like my son is. I try to help him but... I just don't know how. And now that i see you, I realize that you may be a ghost, but you're also a child. So it kind of makes you my... duty you can say."

Phantom swallowed. "Really?"

Maddie smiled gently. "Yes." She sat down beside him. "Now about those ribs of yours..."

"Oh their already healing, almost done I presume." Seeing Maddie's puzzled expression, he explained. "I have this ability to heal faster than it would be considered normal. And since I fight ghosts all the time, it gets really helpful." He yawned suddenly, his expression becoming drowsy. "But it takes a lot out of you..." They both sat in silence until Phantom broke it. "Wait, if you're helping me now, next time we'll meet, will we be friends, or enemies?" He asked in a hopeful voice.

Maddie thought about it, then sighed. "I don't know. I'm suppose to be hunting you, I have been for months, but now I see that you aren't as bad as I thought you were. You would've probably attacked me by now if you wanted to. But if this is a trick of yours..." She let the threat hang in the air and Phantom shook his head vigourously.

"Oh, no. I'm a good ghost. I don't like to hurt people." He said truthfully.

Maddie narrowed her eyes. "The fact that you shot me and my husband plus a few other people, robbed countless banks and kidnapped our mayor tells me otherwise."

Phantom looked frustrated. "At those times, I was either framed, controlled against my own will or under false suspicion. Trust me, I'm only trying to help."

Maddie thought for a second, then bit her lip. "I hope I'm not doing a mistake..." She said to herself then turned to Phantom, who was fighting to keep his eyes open. "We both have the same enemies and both want Amity Park to be safe, well, I hope so. So I guess it would make sense if we would be..." She extended her hand. "Allies?

Phantom looked surprised, then overjoyed as a large grin stretched on his face. "Allies." He repeated, then shook Maddie's hand.

"That's great! But you better not be using me..." Maddie warned.

Phantom shook his head, looking the happiest Maddie ever saw him. "Naw, I wouldn't do that. I'm just really happy that I'm not hunted by you guys anymore."

"I do have a question though." Maddie said.

"Shoot."

"Why do you act so human?"Maddie asked. "I asked you that before, but you never answered me."

Phantom looked nervous once again. "It's kinda personal, but I guess that I can share it with you now that were allies." He pulled off one of his gloves and showed his hand to Maddie, palm facing her.

Maddie blinked. "You actually have skin?" She said, her fingers brushed his skin and she was amazed at how real it felt.

"Erm, yeah, but that wasn't what I really wanted to show you." He took her hand and guided her finger to the base of his wrist.

"Are you actually implying that you have-" Maddie trailed off when she felt a soft, slow, but strong beat pulsing under her fingers. "A pulse." She breathed and looked at him in amazement. "But how?"

Phantom put his glove back on. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I was something else."

"You're actually half ghost and half..."

"Half human." Phantom finished for her. "I'm kinda half-dead."

"How is that even possible?" Maddie asked, awed by this new discovery.

"Actually, I'm not even sure of that myself." Phantom answered. "But please, no experiment of any kind okay? I'm not a big fan of pointy things."

Maddie chuckled. "Fine... but are you sure? I can't even-"

"No."

Maddie laughed. "Alright, you win. But wait, if you're half-human, then shouldn't you also have a human appearance?"

"That's something I'd rather not share right now, I'm not ready, not yet." Phantom admitted. "One day, though, you'll see the real me, and I hope that you'll accept me and what I am."

Maddie frowned. "What do you mean by that? Do I know you? Your human half I mean."

Phantom chuckled. "More than you know... you'll understand what I'm talking about... one day..."

They stayed silent for a few seconds, then Maddie turned to Phantom. "I do have a few more ques-" She stopped talking when she saw that the boy had his head against the trunk of the tree, his mouth slightly open and a light snore escaping it.

Maddie smiled. _Now he really reminds me of Danny... He really wasn't joking when he said that healing takes a lot out of him. I still don't understand quite how he can be... never mind. I'll just put that question in line with the others._

She looked at the sky, the moon was already disappearing and the sun was staring to show behind the faraway clouds, lighting the sky with a weak orange glow.

Maddie sighed contently and closed her eyes, resting her head against the rough bark of the tree and thinking about what a great Mother's Day it'll be.

She felt something drop on her lap and she opened her eyes to see Phantom curling up beside her, his head on her leg and a small, happy smile on his lips.

Maddie hesitated, then started raking her fingers through his messy snow white hair, just like she used to do when Danny was younger.

Phantom snuggled closer, leaning into the touch and Maddie smiled.

_He's so much like a child... When you think about it, it's hard to believe that he can actually be dangerous. Things are going to be different now, I know I'll have to tell Jack though. Maybe he won't be happy about it, but he'll understand, I'm sure. I don't think that I'm really going to share the fact that he's half-ghost with him yet. Phantom said it himself that it was __personal so I guess I'll have to respect that. I wish I would've listened to him sooner though, he really did want to help. Oh well, I guess I'll have plenty of time to make it up to him later. I wish he would tell me who his other human half is... Oh well, I'll start with what I have then, hopefully, he'll trust me enough one day to reveal all his secrets._

Her eyes closed and she smiled, taking a deep breath and feeling better than she had in months. Phantom still curled up next to her and her hand still in his hair, brushing it softly.

Making an alliance with one you thought an enemy then learning one of his biggest secrets? Unusual, but a great way to start a perfect Mother's Day.

_..._

**Done! Sure took me a lot of time though. I know that Maddie was a little out of character and that maybe it was a little tense at some points, but I hope you liked it all the same! I just had to add the hand-through-hair thing, I just thought it would look really adorable!**

**THANK YOU TO ALL THE MOTHERS ON EARTH, WITHOUT YOU, WE WOULD NOT BE WHO WE ARE TODAY!**

**Loks **


End file.
